For-profit merger highlights sector’s growing interest in healthcare
Natalie Schwartz
February 2, 2021
Dive Brief:
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Post University, a for-profit college in Connecticut, plans to acquire the for-profit American Sentinel University, the Colorado-based online nursing school announced Monday.
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American Sentinel will become Post’s college of nursing and health sciences. The two institutions did not disclose the financial terms of their agreement.
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The deal, which is pending regulatory approval, highlights for-profit colleges’ growing interest in healthcare programs.
Dive Insight:
Although Post is absorbing American Sentinel, the latter will continue to offer the same programs, as well as retain its faculty members and accreditation, according to the announcement.
Post, which enrolled around 10,000 students in 2019, will benefit from adding fully online nursing and health care programs, the release noted. In return, American Sentinel, which had about 2,700 students in 2019, will gain access to “enhanced support, expertise and resources,” the release said.
The for-profit sector appears on the rise after years of tumbling enrollment. Enrollment climbed 5.3% year over year at four-year, for-profit colleges in the fall, even though all other institution types saw declines or remained flat, data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows.
